Category:Checkin call

Digital response checkins are, at their most basic, a way to strengthen the connections across the digital response space. Some might be more focused or topical, but these are meant as white-label (unowned) spaces for members of various organizations to have a chance to collaborate. Organizations and other ways of delineating and focusing efforts are absolutely necessary, but so is a space external to that.

This page is a work in progress. Parts of it will be wrong and/or incomplete.
Contributions, suggestions, etc always welcome!

Components

We've found the following to be essential to a group check-in:

• Where will the call take place? : The platform you'll use.

We are currently cycling through various platforms, in order to test them out.

• When will the call happen? : The date and time (include the timezone!).

A doodle usually goes out in order to schedule a call.

• What will be talked about? : Pre-populated agenda.
• Who are you inviting? : Invitee list (organizations and/or individuals).

We have an invite list that can be registered for via the Main page

For attendees

• Be prepared : Think about what you want out of the call. Are you looking for help on something? Want to give an update on a project? Looking to hear what others are up to? All of these (and more) are great! You might consider writing down brief points of what you might say, or rehearsing with a friend or officemate -- large calls can be time intensive, and concision is deeply appreciated.
• Be present : Sharing of information requires a receiver. Don't just think about what you'd like to say to everyone, pay attention when others are speaking. It can be tempting to multitask, but it absolutely detriments the overall effect of such a checkin. Help take notes, or ask yourself how what is currently being talked about impacts the work you do.
• Contribute : The facilitator is likely juggling back end issues. The person speaking can rarely/not take notes for themselves as they speak. We rely on the group of which we are a part to document meaningful exchanges, and that means me/you/us documenting, asking questions, offering suggestions.

For organizers

• Be clear but not spammy about letting people know about the event.
• Set up the agenda in advance of the call, and be sure to send it out so folk have a chance to view and add to it.
• Send notes out after the call is done.
• Shut down any independent comms channels which spawned for the checkin.

Tasks

2-3 weeks before a call, send out a doodle or other scheduling mechanism. Indicate a deadline for responding (I like 4 days).
 This particular call invite currently goes out to: the registered list, the Digital Humanitarian Network mailing list, and the DHN skype channel.
Draft an agenda. You might use this
template.
4 days later, shut the poll down, update the invite list about the time

and date selected, along with a link to the agenda.

2 or 3 days before the call, remind people about the call, agenda, and call-in platform (including what needs they might have to run it, and who their point person for troubleshooting is).
1 or 2 hours before the call, announce the call again.

For facilitators

• Try to start on time, which means you will likely need to be a few minutes early.
• Try to end at least a few minutes early.
• Remember the entirety of the group is who you serve, and be ok interrupting someone if they're taking up more than 1/Nth of the time.

For trouble shooters

• Have whatever comms channels folk might ping you on open. This may include, but not be limited to: email, skype, jabber, the note-taking pad, etc.
• If more than 2 or 3 attendees have signaled having technical issues, ask if anyone else is experiencing the same.
• If 20% or more of attendees are having troubles, work in a back channel with the facilitator and/or organizer to switch everyone over to a backup.